Five Tips for Designing a Great Logo
Designing a great logo is crucial for establishing brand identity and making the right impression on your target audience. Learn more about how to design a great logo with these five tips.
Designing a great logo is crucial for establishing brand identity and making the right impression on your target audience. Learn more about how to design a great logo with these five tips.
Introduction to Logo Design
Your logo is a visual representation of everything your company embodies. Knowing that, you may feel intimidated by the task of designing a great logo. Creating a logo that encapsulates your brand’s ethos can be challenging, but it is possible with the right tools and approach.
But where do you start? Below are some of the basics of great logo design:
Designing a Great Logo Means Perfecting Your Design
Having a logo that’s unclear, boring, or confusing can affect your ability to connect with your audience. This is why designing a great logo means honing in on all elements of design, from the font size to the concepts behind the illustrative components.
Paul Rand, graphic designer for ABC, UPS, and other iconic brands, said: “If, in the business of communications, ‘image is king,’ the essence of this image, the logo, is the jewel in its crown.”
What Does This Mean for Your Brand?
In other words, your logo has the power to captivate your audience and, with one glance, tell the story of your brand. For this reason, it’s important that your logo design accurately reflects your brand and values. Before you begin the process of designing a great logo, be sure to take the time to decide exactly what you want your logo to say to your audience.
For example, a simple, modern logo may represent a company that values efficiency and a streamlined approach to problem-solving, while a more intricate logo may represent a detail-oriented or holistic approach.
Engage Your Audience With Your Logo
It’s also crucial to find the balance between telling your audience what your company does and creating an image that speaks to them. With just a quick look, your logo should draw in your target audience and make people want to learn more about your company.
Your logo also should not be overly abstract or confusing, as you don’t want people to dismiss your design or ignore it altogether, so try to strike a balance. Things like contrast and font can help in designing a great logo.
Thinking About a Memorable Design
Consistently marketing your company with logos and other visuals can increase revenue by up to 23%. This is why it’s so important to not only perfect your logo design but also stick with the basis of your design.
It may be tempting to continually update your logo as graphic design trends come and go, but designing a great logo that is timeless and memorable means that you shouldn’t have to make any major changes to your design.
You also want to strike a balance between timelessness and memorability. For example, a simple black-and-white logo may offer that timeless feel, but the neutral colors may not make the memorable impact your brand needs.
To create a logo that’s memorable, it’s important to select a unique design that utilizes the elements of design in a way that best represents your brand personality. Working with a marketing expert or logo designer can help with this process.
Stay Current with Your Design
While designing a great logo often means creating a timeless design, you also want to make sure you’re utilizing current tools to make your logo stand out on different platforms. For example, consider using an adaptive color palette for your logo, which would change the color scheme based on the context and platform the logo is used on.
Adaptive color palettes offer a way for your logo to remain both timeless and current, as the logo itself does not change, only the color palette. Research suggests up to 40% of logos will use adaptive color palettes in 2024.
The Importance of Graphics
While 3D illustrations and detailed effects are nice to look at, they are not the best choice when designing a logo. A well-done 2D logo will serve you better and be more versatile because it offers contrast and balance, both of which are crucial components of designing a great logo.
2D graphics are also generally easier to use on various platforms.
Five Tips for Designing a Great Logo
While there’s an abundance of advice out there on how to design a great logo, here are five of the most important tips to keep in mind:
1. Connect with Your Target Audience
Your target audience will impact the design of your brand’s logo. If your brand is aimed toward younger consumers, it’s important to understand the sort of graphic design elements that will appeal to that demographic. The same goes for older consumers, those from particular backgrounds, etc.
For example, research shows that people aged 18-34 are more likely to appreciate a bold and dynamic logo.
2. Be Relevant, but Stay Away from Fads
When designing a great logo, it’s important that it has longevity and won’t go out of style. It should be easy to update, memorable, and not centered around the latest fad or craze. Use clean, simple lines and streamlined shapes.
If you’re not sure if your logo is memorable, show a friend and ask them to retrace it the following week.
If you want to ensure your logo has longevity, one option is to stick with a typed-based logo and a classic font. Thinking ahead about the direction your company may go with a product or service is also important to the logo design planning process.
3. Create Brand Trust
When consumers trust a brand, they are more likely to stick with that brand long-term. Customers tend to trust brands with simple but clever logo designs, and they also trust brands that stick with the blueprint of their logo over time.
When designing a great logo, it’s also important to consider the industry you’re in; for example, research indicates that the best color scheme for media and news outlets is red and black.
4. Consider Shapes, Values, and Colors
Many people may not realize that the shape of a logo can tell a story about a brand. For example, a logo with sharp lines and angles may suggest a brand that values strength and precision. A rounded or circular logo, on the other hand, can represent a company that values community and compassion.
These shapes can play into font selection as well, as you can utilize shapes to signify your company and create a long-lasting impression.
Color – or a lack of color – is also a great way to make a statement. Intentional color selection for your logo is important because colors evoke many different emotions. For example, red can evoke a sense of power, while blue is often associated with peace and tranquility.
Interpretations of color may be different based on age, gender, and cultural demographics, so be sure to do your research and choose colors that work with your brand’s values and your target audience.
5. Keep It Simple
When you’re asked what your company does, you probably have a “30-second commercial” ready to pitch. When you give your quick summary, you don’t provide every detail about your company or your complete business plan.
The same idea applies to your logo; it should be easy to look at and understand without trying to explain your entire business model. Studies show that brands with a simple logo design are more likely to be recommended by 64% of consumers.
Ten Great Logo Examples
To give you a better idea of companies that have succeeded at designing a great logo, we’ve compiled a list of ten of the most memorable and effective logos. These include:
Ten Great Logo Examples
To give you a better idea of companies that have succeeded at designing a great logo, we’ve compiled a list of ten of the most memorable and effective logos. These include:
Apple
By far one of the most memorable logos of its time and industry, Apple has revolutionized logo design. Apple chose a simple apple shape with a twist. The part of their logo that makes it great is that it’s usually highly contrasted and can be updated with whatever color makes sense for the particular product or service.
Nike
Like Apple, Nike has mastered the art of designing a great logo, and their brand features a timeless and memorable logo. The “swoosh” has simple lines and highly contrasted colors for bold recognition, and the distinctive logo has withstood the test of time since it was first created in 1971.
Coca-Cola
As a type-based logo, Coca-Cola is memorable for its recognizable color and iconic font. Even though the color has changed in some advertisements, the font has always stayed the same, which keeps the brand timeless and allows the audience to easily recognize the company.
Disney
Another font-based logo, Disney is known for its fun and whimsical font choice, which reflects the company’s ethos. When Walt Disney is listed, it’s also known for its simple castle rendition behind. Both concepts are easily remembered and have the ability to connect with both children and adults.
Playboy
Similar to the Nike and Apple concept, Playboy uses highly contrasted colors and a bold image to make its logo noticeable and memorable. Again, this is a logo that is very easy to spot and remember.
Mercedes
The Mercedes logo uses streamlined lines and shapes to make up its very memorable logo. Over time, Mercedes has added features to update their logo to make it more current or stand out more while still maintaining the brand’s original fingerprint.
Mercedes is a great example of how you can update a logo to keep it current while still ensuring it is recognizable over time.
McDonald’s
Though the famous golden arches that make up the McDonald’s logo have changed and adapted slightly over the years, they have easily been updated to be current and have remained just as recognizable as always.
The bold golden color used in contrast with the red makes this logo stand out and makes it easy for people of all ages and backgrounds to engage with.
IBM
The current logo of IBM has been around for quite some time. This brand has been able to effectively update their logo design by using different colors and prints within the font, creating more powerful advertising while keeping the font-based logo the same.
Its bold font and contrasted color make it stand out and remain memorable within its industry and overall.
CBS
CBS is another company that has excelled at designing a great logo. The CBS logo really gives insight into the meaning of what the company does and stands for. Though the true meaning and history of the memorable eye logo has been debated, it remains bold, powerful, unique, and memorable.
The Instagram logo stands out for a few reasons: it’s fun, young, and colorful while still maintaining simplicity, and the camera-shaped logo is a clever tie-in to the company and its services. It’s highly memorable due to its unique design, which has remained recognizable over time.
Final Thoughts on Designing a Great Logo
Before you start designing a great logo, you must first understand what a logo really is, what it represents, and what it means to you and your target audience. A logo is not just a splat of ink; it’s the face of your company and should represent your company’s 30-second commercial and brand.
Carefully selecting the most fitting and effective shapes, fonts, colors, lines, and images can help you excel in designing a great logo.
Take the time to create your company’s identity and truly leave your mark. We will leave you with these final statistics to think about:
- 32% of Americans don’t trust companies whose logos they don’t like.
- 63% of people said that a poorly designed logo made a brand look cheap.
- 44% believe that a simple design makes a better logo.
- 41% believe that color is important to logo design.
- 38% chose a brand because of the logo.
“Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought.” – Albert Einstein
How Active Marketing Can Help With Designing a Great Logo
At Active Marketing, we know that designing a great logo can open the doors of possibility for your brand. With over two decades of experience offering full-spectrum marketing services, we can help you create a timeless and eye-catching logo that represents your company, services, and values.
Through innovative and reliable marketing techniques, Active Marketing offers data-backed results to drive increased engagement with your brand. Whether you’re seeking help with logo design, increasing website traffic, improving branding, or growing your audience, Active Marketing offers the expertise your company needs to thrive.
To learn more, reach out today at 1 (888) 251-3146.
Final Thoughts on Designing a Great Logo
Before you start designing a great logo, you must first understand what a logo really is, what it represents, and what it means to you and your target audience. A logo is not just a splat of ink; it’s the face of your company and should represent your company’s 30-second commercial and brand.
Carefully selecting the most fitting and effective shapes, fonts, colors, lines, and images can help you excel in designing a great logo.
Take the time to create your company’s identity and truly leave your mark. We will leave you with these final statistics to think about:
- 32% of Americans don’t trust companies whose logos they don’t like.
- 63% of people said that a poorly designed logo made a brand look cheap.
- 44% believe that a simple design makes a better logo.
- 41% believe that color is important to logo design.
- 38% chose a brand because of the logo.
“Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought.” – Albert Einstein
How Active Marketing Can Help With Designing a Great Logo
At Active Marketing, we know that designing a great logo can open the doors of possibility for your brand. With over two decades of experience offering full-spectrum marketing services, we can help you create a timeless and eye-catching logo that represents your company, services, and values.
Through innovative and reliable marketing techniques, Active Marketing offers data-backed results to drive increased engagement with your brand. Whether you’re seeking help with logo design, increasing website traffic, improving branding, or growing your audience, Active Marketing offers the expertise your company needs to thrive.
To learn more, reach out today at 1 (888) 251-3146.
Active Marketing: Proven Game
Changers
Active Marketing has transformed addiction treatment businesses with our strategic horsepower. We have proven experience developing and executing marketing strategies that get your brand’s best messaging in front of the right people at the right time and place.
Our impact on our clients’ bottom lines changes the way they do business. We’d love to talk to you more about your potential.
Give us a call today: (877) 8145716
Active Marketing: Proven Game Changers
Active Marketing has transformed addiction treatment businesses with our strategic horsepower. We have proven experience developing and executing marketing strategies that get your brand’s best messaging in front of the right people at the right time and place.
Our impact on our clients’ bottom lines changes the way they do business. We’d love to talk to you more about your potential.
Give us a call today: (877) 8145716
